Stephen Colbert: What it Means to be a Fool for Christ

Stephen Colbert’s late-night spot on TV and willingness to talk about faith has earned him respect, according to The Gospel Coalition.

Trevin Wax, managing editor of The Gospel Project at LifeWay Christian resources, writes in a column for The Gospel Coalition that Colbert has an ability to “combine moments of hilarity with moments of gravity as he talks with his guests.”

“I’m glad to see this refreshing shift in late-night television. I’m also glad to see that, in the midst of our secular age, a comedian like Stephen Colbert would be so open about his Catholicism,” Wax writes.

Colbert opened up about his The Colbert Report character with Witness.

“Now, it’s rare to see performers of this stature speaking so openly (and positively) about faith – with no qualms or equivocations,” Wax said. “Even more rare is the performer who displays so much knowledge of his church’s teaching and history.”

Colbert also said in the interview that foolishness for Christ is the willingness “to be wrong in society, or wrong according to our time, but right according to our conscience, as guided by the Holy Spirit.”

“Colbert’s definition is a start toward what it means to be foolish for Christ in the eyes of the world, but there is much more to be said – a richer and deeper foolishness we should aspire to,” Wax writes.

“What are the beliefs or practices that seem hopelessly out of step with the times, for which we are willing to be labeled ‘fools?’

“Even better, how can we better resemble the Apostle Paul, who counted everything (including his good works and all his religious observance) as loss compared to the all-surpassing worth of knowing Jesus as Lord?”

“Those are questions I never expected to be prompted by a late-night TV host,” he added.